U.S. patent number 10,263,320 [Application Number 15/211,005] was granted by the patent office on 2019-04-16 for methods of making stretchable and flexible electronics.
The grantee listed for this patent is Ohio State Innovation Foundation. Invention is credited to Asimina Kourti, Robert Lee, John L. Volakis.
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United States Patent |
10,263,320 |
Kourti , et al. |
April 16, 2019 |
Methods of making stretchable and flexible electronics
Abstract
A method of making a stretchable and flexible electronic device
includes the steps of creating a computer aided design using a
computer modeling software system of the electronic device;
digitizing the computer aided design and importing the design into
a computer memory of a sewing machine capable of performing
embroidery; using the sewing machine and a conductive thread to
embroider the design on to a fabric substrate to create the
electronic device, whereby the electronic device comprises at least
a portion of conductive threads; removing the fabric substrate from
the electronic device using heat; coating the electronic device
with a polymer.
Inventors: |
Kourti; Asimina (Columbus,
OH), Volakis; John L. (Columbus, OH), Lee; Robert
(Hilliard, OH) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Ohio State Innovation Foundation |
Columbus |
OH |
US |
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Family
ID: |
57776354 |
Appl.
No.: |
15/211,005 |
Filed: |
July 15, 2016 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20170018843 A1 |
Jan 19, 2017 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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62193658 |
Jul 17, 2015 |
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62194469 |
Jul 20, 2015 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01Q
9/26 (20130101); H01Q 1/36 (20130101); H04B
1/385 (20130101); H01Q 21/0087 (20130101); H01Q
1/273 (20130101); H04B 1/3827 (20130101); H01P
11/00 (20130101); Y10T 29/49016 (20150115); Y10T
29/4908 (20150115); Y10T 29/49005 (20150115); Y10T
29/49155 (20150115); B32B 5/26 (20130101); H01L
51/0012 (20130101); B29C 45/14344 (20130101); B32B
5/24 (20130101); C08F 255/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01Q
1/27 (20060101); H01Q 1/36 (20060101); H01Q
9/26 (20060101); H01P 11/00 (20060101); H01Q
21/00 (20060101); H04B 1/3827 (20150101); C08F
255/00 (20060101); H01L 51/00 (20060101); B29C
45/14 (20060101); B32B 5/26 (20060101); B32B
5/24 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Tugbang; A. Dexter
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Benesch, Friendlander, Coplan &
Aronoff LLP
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent
Application No. 62/193,658, filed on Jul. 17, 2015 and U.S.
Provisional Patent Application No. 62/194,469, filed on Jul. 20,
2015, both of which are incorporated by reference herein in their
entirety.
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A method of making a stretchable and flexible antenna
comprising: sewing a design onto a fabric substrate with a
conductive thread to create the flexible antenna on the fabric
substrate; adhering the fabric substrate with the antenna onto a
surface of an adhesive; removing the fabric substrate while the
antenna is adhered to the adhesive; coating the antenna with a
polymer while the antenna is adhered to the adhesive; and removing
the polymer coated antenna from the adhesive.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: generating a computer
aided design (CAD) of the antenna; digitizing the CAD of the
antenna; and sewing the design onto the fabric substrate based on
the digitized CAD of the antenna to create the antenna on the
fabric substrate.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the conductive thread comprises
from about 7 to about 664 individual conductive filaments to form a
thread, wherein the thread comprises a diameter of about 0.10 (mm)
to about 0.5 mm.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein a melting point of the fabric
substrate is lower than a melting point of the conductive
thread.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the polymer is stretchable and
comprises polydimethylsiloxane and a ceramic material.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the conductive thread is made
from filaments comprising a core and a conductive lining layer.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the core comprises one of a
copper and a polymer, and wherein the conductive lining layer
comprises a conductive metal substance.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the antenna is one of a
multi-band and a broadband antenna.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the antenna is configured to have
an operating frequency band from about 700 Megahertz to about 5.9
Gigahertz.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the polymer comprises a
polyurethane polymer.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the adhesive comprises one of a
copper tape and a green tape.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the coating comprises pouring a
polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mixture onto the antenna while the
antenna is adhered to the adhesive.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the pouring comprises forming a
layer of the PDMS mixture of about 1 (mm) to about 2 mm around the
antenna while the layer is adhered to the adhesive.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising curing the poured
PDMS mixture, wherein the removing comprises removing the PDMS
coated antenna from the adhesive in response to curing.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the polymer coated antenna is
configured to retain an antenna shape while being bent or
stretched.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein the polymer is stretchable and
comprises polydimethylsiloxane and rare earth titanate.
Description
FIELD OF INVENTION
This disclosure relates to an electronic device that is stretchable
and flexible and methods of making and using the same.
Specifically, stretchable and flexible electronic devices, such as
an antenna or circuit, may be made from conductive thread (E-fiber)
materials and incorporated into clothing or other products to, for
example, be used to boost a Wi-Fi or cell phone signal from a
neighboring router or cell phone tower.
BACKGROUND
Antennas, for example, are traditionally made of copper or by
etching metal patterns on rigid substrates. When stretched, folded,
or twisted, these antennas become permanently deformed, or even
break. For applications that require flexibility and are subject to
continuous deformation, such as for use in clothing, it would be
useful to create an antenna, or other electronic device, that is
capable of stretching and moving with the wearer or user, without
breaking or causing permanent deformation.
SUMMARY
In one embodiment, a method of making a stretchable and flexible
electronic device includes the steps of creating a computer aided
design using a computer modeling software system of the electronic
device; digitizing the computer aided design and importing the
design into a computer memory of a sewing machine capable of
performing embroidery; using the sewing machine and a conductive
thread to embroider the design on to a fabric substrate to create
the electronic device, whereby the electronic device comprises at
least a portion of the conductive thread; removing the fabric
substrate from the electronic device using heat; integrating the
electronic device within a layer of polymer.
In another embodiment, a method of using a wearable antenna
includes using the wearable antenna to collect radio frequency
signals from a wireless router or a cell phone tower, wherein the
wearable antenna is fabricated using conductive thread;
transmitting the collected signal from the wearable antenna to
associated circuitry to create an enhanced radio frequency signal;
transmitting the enhanced radio frequency signal from the
associated circuitry to the wearable antenna; and wirelessly
transmitting the enhanced radio frequency signal from the wearable
antenna to a mobile device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying figures, which are incorporated in and constitute
a part of the specification, illustrate various example systems,
apparatuses, and methods, and are used merely to illustrate various
example embodiments. In the figures, like elements bear like
reference numerals.
FIG. 1 is a flow chart detailing a schematic representation of one
embodiment of a method for making a flexible and stretchable
electronic device.
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of one embodiment of an antenna
embroidered on to a fabric substrate.
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of one embodiment of a stretchable and
flexible antenna disposed within a polymer layer.
FIG. 4 is a top plan view of one embodiment of a textile antenna
disposed on an adhesive side of a copper tape.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a stretchable and
flexible antenna disposed within a polymer layer, while being
readily removed from the adhesive side of a copper tape.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a stretchable and
flexible antenna disposed within a polymer layer in a flat, bent,
and stretched configuration.
FIG. 7 is a top plan view of one embodiment of a stretchable and
flexible antenna and a copper antenna disposed within a polymer
layer.
FIG. 8 is a graphical comparison of the measured reflection
coefficient and impedance data of one embodiment of an E-fiber
antenna and a copper wire antenna.
FIG. 9 is a graphical comparison of the measured max gain of one
embodiment of an E-fiber antenna and a copper wire antenna.
FIG. 10 is a graphical comparison of the measured co-polarization
and cross-polarization radiation patterns of one embodiment of a
stretchable and flexible E-fiber antenna and a copper wire antenna
at 915 MHz (E-plane and H-plane).
FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of one method of creating an
embroidery pattern for an embodiment of the stretchable and
flexible antenna.
FIG. 12 is a top plan view of E-fiber antennas stitched in dipole,
spiral, and sinusoidal patterns.
FIG. 13 is a top view of a 50.OMEGA. transmission line embroidered
using 7-filament Elektrisola E-fibers, embedded within a graphical
comparison of the RF performance of three embodiments of
transmission lines.
FIG. 14 is a top view of a spiral antenna embroidered using
7-filament Elektrisola E-fibers, embedded within a graphical
comparison of the antenna's measured and simulated Voltage Standing
Wave Ratio (VSWR) values.
FIG. 15 is a front view of one embodiment of a garment equipped
with a stretchable and flexible antenna and associated
circuitry.
FIG. 16 is a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of a method of
using a flexible and stretchable wearable antenna.
FIG. 17 is a front view of one embodiment of a vest equipped with
several stretchable and flexible antennas.
FIG. 18 is a front view of one embodiment of a belt equipped with
several stretchable and flexible antennas.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A flexible and stretchable electronic device may be made by using
embroidery or sewing techniques to create the electronic device
from conductive threads (E-fibers) and then integrating that device
within a layer of polymer. For the purpose of this description, the
electronic device will be referred to as an "antenna," but it
should be understood that other electronic devices may also be
implemented using the same process, such as circuits. The antennas
may be used for many different applications, such as in RFIDs,
medical sensors, wearable electronics, and in tire tread.
In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a method for making a
flexible and stretchable wire antenna 10 may include creating a
computer model 12 of the desired antenna design. The computer model
may be created using any desirable computational or analysis
methodology to create a computer-aided design file (CAD). Ideally,
the design will include antennas with angles that can adequately be
performed by the chosen embroidery process. For example, when thick
(diameter greater than or equal to about 0.53 mm) E-fibers with
high tensile strength are used in existing embroidery machines
capable of performing the stitching required, sharp corners with
ninety degree angles can be embroidered with bends of radius equal
to about 5 mm. However, it should be appreciated that as technology
advances, embroidery process may improve to allow for improved
precision.
The CAD file created by the computer modeling step 12 will then be
digitized 14 by importing the file into the software toolset of
sewing machine, such as a Brother sewing machine, and converted
into a digitized stitching pattern. The process may require
consolidation of the design and fabrication geometry differences.
Specifically, the difference between the digitized pattern and the
stitched pattern can be controlled to achieve the desired stitched
pattern on the fabric. For example, when thick E-fibers are used to
embroider bends, then these bends should be modeled as sharp
corners in the embroidery digitized file. These sharp corners can
yield a stitched pattern on the fabric having bends. In one
embodiment, the stitching density was set to about 1.3
stitches/mm.
An automatic embroidery process was then used to embroider the
design of the antenna created by the computer model 12 on to a
fabric substrate 16. In one embodiment, a conductive thread, or
E-fiber, was used to create the embroidered pattern. The E-fiber
may include one or more electrically-conductive filaments. Each
filament may include a core and a conductive lining layer. In one
embodiment, the conductive lining layer may be selected from
silver, copper, nickel, or a combination thereof. The core may be
conductive as well, or it may be a non-conductive polymer, such as
Zylon.RTM. or Vectran.RTM..
In one embodiment, the E-fiber may be created by twisting 664
Amberstrand.RTM. filaments, resulting in a composite thread of
about 0.5 mm in diameter. It was found that this resulted in a
thread with high flexibility, a breaking strength of about 46.2
lbs, and a low direct current (DC) resistance of about 0.5 to about
0.8.OMEGA./ft. It should be understood that other threads may be
used, depending on the desired resulting E-fiber characteristics,
however, it has been discovered that the use of a small number of
filaments to make thinner threads allows the antenna 22 to be
embroidered onto the substrate while maintaining fine details of
the CAD file (e.g. sharp corners). When using such thinner threads,
the embroidery density will be increased in order to increase the
surface conductivity of the antenna. It is also contemplated that a
manual embroidery process may be employed, alleviating the need for
the computer modeling 12 and digitization 14 processes. The manual
process may be employed by either a sewing machine or with a
hand-held needle.
In one embodiment, the E-fiber antenna 22 is embroidered onto a
fabric substrate 24, as shown in FIG. 2. The substrate 24 may be
any type of suitable fabric, such as polyester, silk, nylon,
cotton, or other suitable materials. In this embodiment,
geometrical precision of about 0.1 mm to about 0.5 mm was achieved.
It should be understood by those of skill in the art the
geometrical precision--the difference between the shape of the CAD
file and the resulting embroidered antenna--is very important. The
geometrical precision required for printed circuit boards is about
0.1 mm. It should be understood that the higher the precision of
the embroidery process, the closer the antenna's performance will
be to the traditionally made antenna, such as a copper antenna of
the same shape. The antenna may be designed as either a multi-band
or a broadband antenna, in order to cover the intended frequency
band of operation, from about 700 MHz to about 5.9 GHz.
Referring again to FIG. 1, the substrate 24 is used to support the
shape of the antenna 22. In order to achieve the desired
flexibility and stretchability of the antenna 22, it was discovered
that the substrate 24 must be removed 18 and the resulting antenna
22 embedded 20 in a stretchable polymer 26, as shown in FIG. 3. In
one embodiment, the polymer 26 may be a silicon-based polymer, such
as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) (.epsilon..sub.r=3, tan
.delta.<0.001) or a polyurethane polymer.
PDMS polymer allows for an antenna stretchability (elongation) of
about 10% of its original size. It should be understood that other
suitable polymers, such as Kraton, may be used, depending on the
stretchability and flexibility required for the resulting coated
antenna. In another embodiment, the polymer may further include a
ceramic material, such as rare earth titanate (RET), dispersed
throughout.
In order to remove the substrate 24 and preserve the original shape
of the antenna 22, the antenna is placed on an adhesive surface of
a copper tape 28, as shown in FIG. 4. It should be understood that
other adhesive surfaces, such as green tape, may be used to
preserve the original shape of the antenna. The substrate 24 is
then removed using a soldering iron. In one embodiment, the fine
tip of a soldering iron was used to perform localized heating of
the substrate 24 having a melting point of about 250.degree. C.,
but not melt the antenna 22 having a melting point of about
600.degree. C. It should be understood that other processes, such
as oven heating, may be used to heat the substrate 24.
Once the substrate 24 has been removed, the antenna 22 may be
coated or integrated 20 within a polymer layer 26, as shown in FIG.
3. For example, in order to create a PDMS polymer layer 26, the
base and curing agent of the PDMS are mixed at room temperature in
a vacuum mixer (not shown). A bubble-free PDMS mixture is then
poured on to the antenna 22, while the antenna 22 is still lightly
adhered to the copper tape 28, as shown in FIG. 5. A thin layer of
liquid polymer, about 1 mm to about 2 mm, is formed around the
antenna 22 and a curing process under elevated temperatures, about
120.degree. C., is conducted. Once cured, the underlying copper
tape 28 is removed to result in an antenna 22 that will hold its
shape while being bent and stretched, as shown in FIG. 6. It has
been found that the textile antenna 22 may be stretched along with
the surrounding polymer layer 26.
As shown in FIG. 6, the antenna 22 coated in polymer 26 may also
include a suitable connector 30. It should be understood that the
connector 30 may be attached to the antenna 22 before it is coated
in the polymer 26 and that the polymer 26 will then form around the
connector during the integration process 20. In one embodiment, the
antenna 22 may be used to collect and transmit signals with
frequencies up to about 4 GHz.
EXAMPLE 1
In one embodiment, an antenna was made according to the method
disclosed above and was constructed to operate at 915 MHz. In order
to verify that the antenna was operating at 915 MHz, the antenna's
reflection coefficient as a function of frequency was measured
using a Vector Network Analyzer (VNA). The antenna has a meandered
wire geometry, as shown in FIG. 7 and has a length of about 95.66
and a width of about 12.6 mm. In order to assess the performance of
the E-fiber wire antenna, a copper wire antenna with the same
geometry was also embedded in a PDMS polymer layer.
The measured reflection coefficient and impedance data of the
E-fiber antenna and the copper wire antenna were measured. The
results of those measurements are shown in Table I below and in
FIG. 8.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE I Refl. Avg. Coeff. At 10 dB Realized
Conductor 915 MHz Bandwidth Gain Antenna 1 664-Filament -25.4 dB 90
MHz 1.79 dBi Amberstrand Copper Copper -14.5 dB 69 MHz 1.85 dBi
Antenna
It was determined from those measurements that differences between
the two antennas were within the acceptable limits, although
Antenna 1 exhibits slightly lower gain. Without being bound by this
theory, it is hypothesized that this is due to losses in the
silver-coated polymer E-fibers as well as surface roughness
inherent to E-fiber surfaces. Nevertheless, the gain discrepancy of
0.06 dB shown in Table I is insignificant. Results have shown that
E-fiber surfaces perform almost equally well as their copper
counterparts for frequencies up to around 3 GHz. Beyond 3 GHz, gain
discrepancies higher than 1 dB are observed. It should be noted
that the reflection coefficient and gain/pattern data obtained
after two months of repetitive stretching and flexing indicated no
change in antenna performance.
The corresponding measured realized gain (max) is shown in FIG. 9
from 800 MHz to 1000 MHz. At 915 MHz, the maximum realized gain was
2.49 and 2.54 dBi for the E-fiber antenna and copper antenna,
respectively. It was determined that compared to the copper wire
antenna, the E-fiber antenna exhibited a slightly lower gain, which
likely correlates to the superior bandwidth matching performance of
the E-fiber antenna, as shown in FIG. 8. Also, as shown in FIG. 10,
the measured co-polarization and cross-polarization radiation
patters of the antennas at 915 MHz (E-plan and H-plane) were
measured. The co-polarization patterns were found to exhibit very
good agreement, with a discrepancy of less than 0.6 dB.
EXAMPLE 2
E-fiber antennas were created using the general process described
above. In this embodiment, the E-fibers used for embroidery were
40-filament Liberator.TM. and 20-filament Liberator.TM., with
diameters of 0.27 mm and 0.22 mm and DC resistances of 1.OMEGA./ft
and 2.OMEGA./ft, respectively. Dual layer embroidery at 7
threads/mm, as shown in FIG. 11, was used to create antennas with
dipole, spiral, and sinusoidal shapes, as shown in FIG. 12. This
dense embroidery reduces physical discontinuities and achieves
surface conductivity close to that of copper. It was found that the
antennas made with the 40-filament Liberator E-fibers exhibit
higher conductivity. However, due to their finer thickness, the
Liberator-20 E-fibers were superior in embroidering sharp corners.
Therefore, it was determined that it may be necessary to use
different E-fibers for different parts of the antenna patterns.
EXAMPLE 3
Three dipole antennas operating at 2.45 GHz were fabricated and
measured, as described in the description above and below in Table
II. The shape of the antennas is described in FIG. 12, above. The
antennas were 38 mm.times.16 mm with sharp corners, slots and a
required accuracy of 0.3 mm. The E-fiber antennas were found to
have good agreement with the copper antenna, with Antenna 1
radiating equally well with Antenna 3 and Antenna 2 exhibiting
about 0.6 dB lower gain, on average. This was attributed to the
slightly lower conductivity of the Liberator-20, as discussed
above.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE II Avg. Refl. Realized Coeff. At 5 dB Gain at
Conductor 2.45 GHz Bandwidth 2.45 GHz Antenna 1 40-Filament -9.9 dB
1020 MHz 1.28 dBi Liberator Antenna 2 20-Filament -9.9 dB 900 MHz
0.6 dBi Liberator Antenna 3 Copper -9.9 dB 1065 MHz 1.31 dBi
EXAMPLE 4
In yet another embodiment, 7 silver-plated copper Elektrisola
filaments were twisted together to form a conductive thread with a
0.12 mm diameter. The thread exhibited a very low DC resistance of
about 0.58.OMEGA./ft. It was found that the 7-filament Elektrisola
threads were two times thinner, had 3.5 times lower DC resistance,
and cost 12 times less than the 20-filament Liberator threads. It
was also found that the thinner threads exhibited lower embroidery
tension and high flexibility, leading to a geometrical precision of
0.1 mm. And, with the lower DC resistance, it was determined that
only a single layer, as opposed to the double layer, of embroidery
was needed to achieve the highly conductive textile surfaces
required. It was found that embroidery density was optimized with
this single layer stitching at 7 threads/mm.
A 50.OMEGA. transmission line was created using a single layer
embroidery pattern with 7-filament Elektrisola thread and
integrated within a 1.5 mm layer of PDMS polymer
(.epsilon..sub.r=3, tan .delta.<0.001) layer, as shown in FIG.
13. It was then compared to similar transmission lines made of
copper and 20-filament Liberator threads with a two-layer
embroidery pattern. It was found that the RF performance was very
similar to that achieved by the 20-filament Liberator thread, using
50% less E-fiber thread, reducing the cost by about 24 times, and
increasing the accuracy three fold.
EXAMPLE 5
A 1-5 GHz spiral antenna was embroidered on to a polyester
substrate, as described above. The conductive thread was 7-filament
Elektrisola and was stitched in a single layer. The antenna was a
160 mm diameter Archimedean spiral, with a slot width of about 2.4
mm, and a strip of about 8.5 mm, as shown in FIG. 14. The measured
and simulated voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) was measured and
is also shown in FIG. 14. As seen the measurement results are very
close to the simulations, which assume perfect electric conductor
surfaces. The lower VSWR values can likely be attributed to loss in
the textile surface of the fabricated antenna.
Once created, the flexible and stretchable textile electronic
device may be used for a variety of applications. For example,
textile electronic devices may be used for wireless communications
to replace the RF front-end of a mobile phone or to wirelessly
transmit position, motion, identity, or healthcare status. Textile
electronics may be used in the automotive industry and incorporated
into an RFID or sensor to be used in the tire or other flexible
components. The electronic devices may also be used for emergency
applications, in military applications, for tracking, healthcare
(such as for implantable devices), in sporting, for space
exploration, and in unmanned aerial vehicles.
In one example, the textile electronic device may be an antenna 22
that is incorporated into a garment 32, such as a jacket, as shown
in FIG. 15. The antenna may be embroidered directly on the
clothing, adhered to the clothing, applied by a loop and hook
mechanism, such as a Velcro.RTM. attachment, attached with snap
buttons, etc.
In this embodiment, and as shown in FIG. 16, if the wearer, such as
military personnel or outdoor enthusiast, is in a location that is
experiencing a weak Wi-Fi or cell phone signal from a distant
router 34 or cell phone tower, a first wearable antenna disposed on
the wearer's garment 32 captures the weak signal 36 and routes it
38 via metal or textile wires to a wearable booster circuit 40 also
disposed in the garment 32. The booster circuit 40 may be powered
by a portable battery and may include an amplifier, memory, WiFi
chip, 4G/LTE chip, filters, USB and Ethernet ports. The booster 40
may be either an extender or a repeater. It should be understood
that other types of circuits may be embedded into the garment,
depending on the need of the user.
Once the booster circuit 40 receives the signal, the booster
circuit amplifies the signal 42 and then routes it via metal or
textile wires to the first wearable antenna or a second wearable
antenna disposed within the garment 44, which then transmits the
amplified signal 46 wirelessly to a hand held radio, a cell phone
or other mobile device 48. As used herein, the phrase "mobile
device" can mean a portable device having one or more processors,
memory and communication hardware. The communication hardware can
be configured to communicate wirelessly via a wide area network, a
local area network, personal area network, a global positioning
system, a cellular network, and combinations thereof. Suitable
cellular networks include, but are not limited to, technologies
such as LTE, WiMAX, UMTS, CDMA, and GSM. In some embodiments, the
mobile device can implement a mobile operating system as machine
readable instructions stored on the memory and executed by the one
or more processors. Specific examples of mobile operating systems
include, but are not limited to, Android, iOS, Blackberry OS,
Windows Phone, Symbian, and the like.
In use, it was found that a textile antenna embedded in a user's
garment, as described above, may significantly increase the
cellular or WiFi data reception. For example, it was observed that
the signal reception of a Nokia 6600 was best when placed at a
user's head, registering 7 bars (-70 dBm). However, when placed in
a user's side pocket, front pocket, or back pocket, the signal
decreased to 6 (-75 to -70 dBm), 4 (-85 to -80 dBm), and 1 (-100 to
-95 dBm) bars, respectively. However, when the user wore a jacket
that included a textile antenna 22 embedded on the shoulder, the
mobile phone registered 7 bars of signal strength, no matter the
phone's location relative to the user's body. This is because
textiles enable wearable antenna with large apertures that exhibit
much higher gain than the miniature antennas integrated inside the
phone.
While the antenna is shown on the shoulder of a jacket, it is
contemplated that other configurations may be advantageous, such as
the use of the antenna in a vest (FIG. 17) or a belt (FIG. 18)
configuration. It is also contemplated that more than one antenna
may be used on a single garment, increasing the versions of the
same wireless signal being captured. Collectively, such a
configuration can provide a robust system and potentially reduce
the power requirements of the mobile device.
In another embodiment, the textile device incorporated in to the
garment may be used for power harvesting, to track the user, to
monitor health statistics of the wearer (e.g. respiration,
humidity, motion, blood glucose, ECG, temperature, EMG, sweat,
SpO2, blood pressure), as a body imaging sensor. It is contemplated
that the wearable textile electronic device would be comfortable
for the user, would not be obtrusive, and would be durable and
robust in order to withstand daily activities and tasks. In
desirable, the data collected from the wearer may be transmitted
wirelessly to a third party for analysis and/or observation.
In another embodiment, the textile electronic may be used to
replace metal based sensors as a body-worn textile imaging sensors.
In this embodiment, a surgery-free on-body monitoring device may be
used to evaluate the dielectric properties of internal body organs
(lungs, heart, liver) and effectively determine irregularities in
real-time. This could alert patients and doctors to serious medical
concerns several days or weeks before the concern presents with
outward symptoms.
To the extent that the term "includes" or "including" is used in
the specification or the claims, it is intended to be inclusive in
a manner similar to the term "comprising" as that term is
interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.
Furthermore, to the extent that the term "or" is employed (e.g., A
or B) it is intended to mean "A or B or both." When the applicants
intend to indicate "only A or B but not both" then the term "only A
or B but not both" will be employed. Thus, use of the term "or"
herein is the inclusive, and not the exclusive use. See Bryan A.
Garner, A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage 624 (2d. Ed. 1995).
Also, to the extent that the terms "in" or "into" are used in the
specification or the claims, it is intended to additionally mean
"on" or "onto." To the extent that the term "substantially" is used
in the specification or the claims, it is intended to take into
consideration the degree of precision available or prudent in
manufacturing. To the extent that the term "selectively" is used in
the specification or the claims, it is intended to refer to a
condition of a component wherein a user of the apparatus may
activate or deactivate the feature or function of the component as
is necessary or desired in use of the apparatus. To the extent that
the term "operatively connected" is used in the specification or
the claims, it is intended to mean that the identified components
are connected in a way to perform a designated function. As used in
the specification and the claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and
"the" include the plural. Finally, where the term "about" is used
in conjunction with a number, it is intended to include .+-.10% of
the number. In other words, "about 10" may mean from 9 to 11.
As stated above, while the present application has been illustrated
by the description of embodiments thereof, and while the
embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not
the intention of the applicants to restrict or in any way limit the
scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages
and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art,
having the benefit of the present application. Therefore, the
application, in its broader aspects, is not limited to the specific
details, illustrative examples shown, or any apparatus referred to.
Departures may be made from such details, examples, and apparatuses
without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive
concept.
* * * * *